Parent Resources


Horizontal banner of five images, including: a young girl curled up in a tunnel slide (courtesy of Tommy Wong), a young girl holding a white soccer ball above her head (courtesy of romsrini), a boy lying on the grass with his eyes closed (courtesy of b E k), a young girl sleeping (courtesy of paigelynn), and a close shot of a young boy’s face (courtesy of romsrini)

 

 

 

 

 

SCDC strives to make every opportunity for development and education available to students at the center. However, we at the center realize development and education don’t stop at the center’s door; parent involvement and knowledge of the steps children encounter as they age can be crucial to understanding and assisting each child’s individual progress. To aid parents in this, SCDC offers the following links to outside resources in order to promote awareness of the milestones and steps children experience, as well as provide information on general health, safety, and education.
 
Additional resources are provided at the bottom of the page for children over the age of six, supplying information and resources to help you monitor your child as she continues to grow and develop, as well as information to help facilitate your child’s transition from preschool (and the care of the center) to kindergarten.

 

Development
Education
Health & Safety
Children Over Six

 


Development

Development, the ability to perform more complex tasks as children age, varies from child to child. Gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional development, cognitive skills, and language skills, for instance, all develop differently in each child, and the rate at which a child develops can vary remarkably.

Familiarizing yourself with childhood milestones and monitoring your child's development are crucial, particularly in the early years of a child's life.

The following web sites provide information and resources on many areas of childhood development:



http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/abc/index.html PBS's The ABCs of Child Development; Developmental Milestones for Your Child's First Five Years

This easy to use and very comprehensive site is an extension of PBS's The Whole Child series. Through the use of colorful illustrations and charts, the site outlines some of the principle milestones children often go through during their first five years. The four areas of development examined are physical development, social and emotional development, thinking skills, and communication skills.

 

The site’s parent page (http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/parents/index.html) explores inventive sources and information on parenting, including helping your child develop self-esteem and reasoning skills, nurturing creativity, dealing with emotions, establishing self regulation and daily routines for children, and more.

 

http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.asp?r=329 The Six Year Old

This site supplies information on expected developmental milestones to look for during your child’s sixth year, and information for identifying signs of difficulties. The site also provides parental involvement suggestions for this time period, as well as a detailed narrative depicting standard milestones for six year olds. 

 

 

Education

You are your child's most important teacher, and continuing your child's education at home can make an important difference in his academic success. Not only does extra parent involvement help strengthen the bond between you and your child, it also reinforces your child's learning, increases his success at school, and may even increase his interest in learning.


Several specific suggestions regarding what parents can do to supplement their child's education at the center are listed on each classroom page:

Infant, Toddler, Transition, Preschool 2, Preschool 3

 

Getting involved with your child's education can also mean involving yourself with your child's school… taking an active role in your child's school, such as voting at board meetings, joining a committee, or becoming a board member. To learn more about SCDC's board and committees (and how to take an active role in the center), visit the board and committees pages.

 

The following web sites provide information on childhood education and tips on how parents can become more involved with their child's education:

 

http://www.nea.org/parents/index.html National Education Association

            Suggestions for getting involved in your child's education, including parenting tips and homework help suggestions, as well as direct involvement with your child's teachers and school. The site also includes links to additional parent help sites on a wide range of topics.

 

http://www.naeyc.org/ece/critical.asp National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This particular page of the NAEYC website focuses on critical issues in childhood education, particularly early development, learning, and education. A variety of topics are examined.

 

http://www.naeyc.org/ece/eyly/ National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Early Years are Learning Years, a collection of short articles designed to provide information on the importance of the education and development of children during their early years. Articles are provided on separate web pages or for download in pdf format.

 

http://www.naeyc.org/ You can also visit NAEYC's homepage for additional education resources for young children.

 

http://www.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml?src=pn US Department of Education

A large collection of information for parents on education for children of all ages.

 

 

Health & Safety

Your child’s health and safety are essential. The following links provide information on almost everything you need to know in order to help you keep your child safe and healthy, including monitoring your child’s health and growth, preparing for emergencies, first aid, immunizations, checklists, nutrition, and much more:

 

http://www.healthinschools.org/parents/learn.htm#health Center for Health and Health Care in Schools

Information on general health, fitness, nutrition, and safety, including checkups, managing your child’s health, healthy growth and development, disabilities and special needs, medications, exercise and food safety, exercise, emergency preparedness, injury prevention, playground safety, and much more.

 

http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/childguide Pocket guide to Good Health for Children

Developed by an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this comprehensive guide explores a wide range of children’s health issues. Information is provided online or in PDF format.

 

 

Children Over Six

The following links take you from middle childhood (six years old) to early adolescence (twelve to fourteen). Developmental milestones, parent involvement suggestions, safety tips, as well as additional parenting links, are all included on the following pages for each specified age group:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/middlechildhood.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6-8 years old (Middle Childhood)

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/middlechildhood9-11.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
9-11 years old (Middle Childhood)

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/human/pubs/child6_12.html North Carolina State University’s Cooperative Extension Service
6-12 (Middle Childhood)

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/earlyadolescence.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
12-14 (Early Adolescence)

http://www.familyeducation.com/home FamilyEducation
Offers resources for children from birth to 18 years.



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